Borussia Monchengladbach moved a step closer to a spot in the Champions League group stage by reaching second spot in the Bundesliga with a 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
Leverkusen started the game brightly with some long spells of possession in dangerous areas, but the first clear chance fell to the home side, who came close to taking the lead when Max Kruse's low effort was tipped away by Bernd Leno.
Gladbach seemed to grow in confidence after that opportunity, and they were left frustrated again when Oscar Wendt fired over after a corner fell to him inside the box.
Patrick Herrmann should have given the hosts the lead a few moments later, but he was twice denied by Leno as Leverkusen survived a spell on the back foot.
After soaking up the pressure, Leverkusen thought that they had broken the deadlock at the other end as Stefan Kiessling headed home before seeing the offside flag cut short his celebration.
A bright start to the second half from Gladbach proved to be key as they broke quickly to create an opportunity for Kruse, who kept his composure to slot past a helpless Leno.
Predictably, Lucien Favre's side dropped back to protect their slender lead, but they were untroubled for long spells as Leverkusen's creative players struggled.
They managed to avoid a nervy finish to the game as Herrmann wrapped up the win late on by firing home after a free kick caused problems for the visiting defence.
There was still time for Gladbach to add a third as Ibrahima Traore cut inside from the wing before beating Leno to complete an impressive afternoon for the Foals.
Callum Mulvihill
